And Reiner

Military Policeman Marlo was very dissatisfied with the corruption of the Military Police Corps, saying that the Corps was full of scum who only cared about their own interests. He also said that he was not the same kind of military policeman because he came here to change the Military Police Corps, and he talked about what he wanted to do after he climbed to a higher position.

Annie had been silent until now, asked, "Have you ever suffered injustice yourself?" Marlo said no, he wouldn't kill them, but wanted them to learn a lesson, adding that he simply wanted people to return to their inherently kind nature as ordinary people. Annie, however, said Marlo was wrong. Annie said Marlo was an upright man, and she admired people like him, but such people were rare, not ordinary, but special. Annie herself was scum, a villain—in short, not an upright person, but indeed a "normal human being." She simply wanted to call such cowardly people who only went with the flow human. The other military police didn't say much after hearing this, only teasing Annie for suddenly opening up, and then went to carry out their mission.

Whether you like it or not, morning still arrives. On the way, Annie is suddenly stopped by Armin, who is hiding in a corner. Annie leaves the group to see Armin. Seeing Armin's strange attire, Annie asks Armin what's wrong. Armin begs Annie to help Eren escape. Annie thinks their plan is absurd, Armin, and turns to leave. At Armin's repeated pleas, Annie asks, "In your eyes, am I the kind of helpful person?" Armin replies, "A good person? I don't like that term because I think it's just what people use to describe those who are useful to them. I don't believe there's anyone who's useful to everyone. Even if you do something beneficial for someone, it might hurt others... So, if Annie doesn't help us, then Annie is a bad person to me." Annie is silent for a moment, then puts on the ring used for transformation and agrees to Armin's request.

"Smile"

But upon reaching a basement, Annie stopped at the doorway. Sensing something amiss, Annie turned to Armin with a sinister expression and said, "Sigh... it really hurts. Armin, when did you start looking at me like that?" Armin mentioned Marco's Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and asked Annie if she had killed the two captured Titans. Annie didn't answer directly but turned her head away and asked, "Who knows? But if you had considered this a month ago..."

"Why didn't you take action then?" Armin was so shocked he couldn't speak. After a moment, he said in a trembling voice, "I still don't want to believe it... But back then, didn't you Annie, fail to kill me, which is why I've ended up like this?"

Annie muttered to herself, "Yes, that's what I thought too. How could you have driven me to this point? Back then... why?"

At this moment, an anxious Eren shouted for Annie to come down and prove something, but Annie just muttered to herself, "I am not qualified to be a warrior..." Armin tried to talk to Annie, but Mikasa, who had already lost patience, interrupted Armin, drew her sword, and threatened to cut the Female Titan (Annie) into eight pieces.

Annie gave a strange smile, then said to Armin, "Armin, it's so good that I'm a good person to you. I guess you won this bet... But my bet has only just begun." She then made a gesture as if to bite her hand and transform. Armin, quick-witted and agile, immediately fired a signal flare, and the Survey Corps lying in ambush nearby swarmed in and subdued Annie. However, Annie managed to cut herself with the mechanism on her ring, transforming into a Titan...

The standoff at the basement entrance stemmed from Armin's initial observation that the Female Titan reacted to Eren's nickname, narrowing down the suspects to those in the 104th generation. He also noticed Annie using Marco's Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to evade inspection. Armin then focused on Female Titan as the suspect in the killing of the two captured Titans, while Mikasa also felt Annie Female Titan resembled Annie. Despite lacking direct evidence, the Survey Corps decided to lure Annie into the basement for capture, leading to the scene at the basement entrance.

Armin discovers Marco's Omni-Directional Mobility Gear

After Annie transformed, Eren, Mikasa, Armin immediately fled into the underground passage to discuss their next plan. Annie recklessly destroyed the underground passage on the ground. Eren planned to transform to protect Mikasa and Armin, but for some reason, no matter how much Eren injured himself, he could not transform.

Seeing Mikasa questioned Eren: "... You understand, right? The Female Titan is Annie, so how can you not fight? Is it... some special feeling that's clouding your judgment?" Armin, having already devised a plan, would have him and Mikasa simultaneously rush out of the basement's two exits. Annie could only deal with one of them, allowing Eren to escape. Mikasa immediately began their operation with Armin. Seeing their death-defying actions, Eren asked, "Why... are you able to fight?"

Mikasa turned around and replied, "There's nothing we can do, isn't there? Because this world is cruel." Hearing this, Eren finally made up his mind, transformed into a Titan, and burst forth from underground, punching the Female Titan away. The Female Titan crashed into a building as it fell, causing numerous civilian deaths. Annie, seeing the civilians she had killed, showed a look of terror, then fled to an open area to fight Eren, who was pursuing her. Annie had no intention of fighting; after shaking off Eren, she ran towards the wall, attempting to climb it to escape, her speed too fast for her Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to keep up.

Armin had Eren, now in his Titan form, throw Mikasa to catch up with Annie. Mikasa severed the Female Titan's finger Vice Admiral, and Annie, falling to the ground, was quickly subdued by Eren and the Survey Corps. Just as she was about to be captured by the Survey Corps, Annie remembered her promise to her father and resolutely used her Hardening ability to encase herself in crystal. The Survey Corps was helpless against the Hardening crystal and unable to extract any information from Annie, so they could only imprison Annie deep underground in the Stohess District.

During the "dormant" period

Before the battle at Wall Maria broke out, Reiner wanted to rescue Annie first, which led to a battle with Zeke in his Titan form. Reiner was defeated and had no choice but to obey Zeke's order to seize the "Coordinate" first.

Four years later, on the night of the ceremony held in Liberio, Annie's hometown, for Marley to declare war on Paradis Island Reiner's mother, who was watching the ceremony, spoke with Annie's father about Annie. Because Annie had not returned, Annie's father made sarcastic remarks to Reiner's mother, but Reiner's mother felt that Annie, like Bertolt, had "gone everything to Marley." However, Annie's father denied this, believing that Annie was still alive because Annie had promised him that he would return.

On the same night as the declaration of war, the Annie Survey Corps launched a surprise attack on the containment zone. This battle not only severely damaged the Marley army but also caused huge casualties among the civilians in the containment zone. After the Survey Corps' triumphant return, Armin sat alone in the basement, telling Annie, who was in the crystal, about the Survey Corps' alliance with the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers, pouring out his heart's bitterness to Annie, and hoping that Annie could give him a reply.

Some time later, Armin returned to the basement where Annie was being held. As he reached out to touch the crystal, Hitch suddenly appeared and caught him in the act. Armin hurriedly explained that he was only trying to gather information through contact, not that he intended to do anything "wrong," and begged Hitch not to forbid him from coming and going. Hitch said she wouldn't, because Annie would get bored if she was the only one talking to Annie. Then Hitch said to Annie, "Honestly, you're just sleeping, why are you so popular?"

Armin confides in Annie within the crystal and awakens. In 854, on the day Marley attacks Paradis Island, Eren overcomes numerous obstacles and obtains the Founding Titan through contact with Zeke. He activates the Rumbling, releasing all the Hardening from the island and freeing the Titans trapped within the walls. The crystal encasing Annie melts away at the same instant, and the girl, who has decided to return to her father, finally awakens in the basement after four years of "sleep."

Meanwhile, as Hitch was cleaning up the ruins caused by the Wall Titans, she noticed something amiss in the basement. Upon investigating, she was taken hostage by Annie, who was hiding in a corner. Despite her weakened state, Annie was easily subdued by Hitch. Annie had preemptively cut her hand to transform into a Titan and use it to blackmail Hitch. After some thought, Hitch decided to take Annie away. Upon reaching the stables, Annie mentioned that she still had consciousness within the crystal. Over the past four years, she had learned about the outside world through Armin and Hitch's conversations, and like other Eldians, she had heard Eren's declaration of world destruction.

While riding horses down the street with Hitch asked Annie what she thought when she saw the corpses she and Eren had created. Annie then shared her inner thoughts with Hitch, telling her about her background, and saying, "I... have a father waiting for me to come back. And... other people, like me, also have people who are important to them... I no longer feel that nothing matters. I truly believe that I committed an irreparable sin."

"... However, if it's to get back to my father, I'll still do the same thing." Hitch was glad Annie told her this, but then added regretfully, "But even if you get back to your father, all you might find are rubble and corpses." Annie silently replied, "... Yes."

20-year-old Annie

Meanwhile, a dramatic change occurred in the Liberio Internment Zone. Led by Annie's father, the Eldians, having heard the declaration of world destruction, demanded that the Marley guards allow them to escape. However, the Marley guards not only disbelieved them but also arrogantly accused the inhabitants of conspiracy, forcing them to kneel and attempting to arrest them all. As Annie's father knelt, he remembered his promise to his daughter and suddenly rose, shouting as he attacked the guards with hand-to-hand combat. After a burst of gunfire, the scene shifts, and the fate of Annie's father and the other warriors' families remains unknown...

The morning after Annie's promise to her father, Annie bumped into Armin, Connie, Gabi, and Falco while eating out. Annie mercilessly mocked Connie's disheveled eating habits. Afterwards, Annie left a note for Hitch, thanking Hitch for her companionship over the past four years and bidding her farewell. Then, she went with Armin and the others to meet up with Mikasa. On the way to meet Hange by carriage, Annie noticed someone watching them from a distant attic (later revealed to be their instructor, Keith Shadis).

That same night, after a chance encounter with Armin and others, Annie and her group joined the Alliance. They met up with Hange, Magath, and their group. Annie showed no interest in their argument about the historical feud between Marley and Eldia, directly asking if the Survey Corps could kill Eren. Mikasa said that killing Eren wasn't the only solution, Armin believed they should talk to Eren first. Disappointed by their answers, Annie sharply told Mikasa, "If we, whose homeland is Marley, wanted to eliminate Eren... you would definitely fight us to protect Eren... wouldn't that be the outcome?"

"Mikasa, after all, you probably haven't considered anything more important Eren, have you?" This angered Mikasa, almost causing a conflict. Ultimately, Annie relented and agreed to speak with Eren first. Hange then smoothed things over by letting everyone eat. While everyone sat around the campfire eating and talking, Yelena brought up the truth about Marco's death to Jean. Under Jean's questioning gaze, Annie admitted that she had taken Marco's Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, leading to Marco being eaten by a Titan. Reiner immediately explained that Annie was simply following orders. Reiner's willingness to take responsibility surprised Annie. After Reiner was severely beaten by Jean, Annie knelt beside Reiner to check his injuries. The next day, Annie and the others went to the port.

Upon arriving near the port on the night of the finale, the group discovered that the Yeagerists had already occupied it. Annie believed that the only way to seize the ship was to kill the enemy instantly, thus requiring the combined efforts of everyone. However, the Survey Corps members were unwilling to fight amongst themselves. Annie was very dissatisfied with the Survey Corps' reaction and questioned Armin, demanding that Armin provide a mutually beneficial solution, just as he had driven her to the brink before.

Reiner suggested that the Survey Corps shouldn't get involved, but Hange's subsequent deduction that the Rumbling had reached Marley Continent shocked everyone and ended their conversation. Magath humbled himself and bowed to the Survey Corps in apology, then asked for their help, but Armin flatly refused (although the Survey Corps did help anyway). Armin and Connie first tried to trick Floch by saying they were chasing the Cart Titan and the Armored Titan and needed the Hizuru's airship and technicians, attempting to take the technicians and airships without conflict. However, Floch saw through their ruse, and a battle ensued.

After their plan was exposed, Annie and Reiner transformed into Titans at the port to draw the Yeagerists fire. However, the plan soon changed, and Annie and Reiner needed to protect the Hizuru engineers and airships. They were attacked by a barrage of Thunder Spear. During the attack, Reiner used his Titan body to shield Annie from a fatal blow. Ultimately, Annie and Reiner, in their Titan form, were severely injured by the Yeagerists and rendered incapacitated. At the critical moment, Connie stepped in and saved them both. Annie was then helped onto a ship by Mikasa.

While transforming at the port with Reiner, on the ship's journey to the hangar, Annie learns that her homeland is beyond saving and is on the verge of a mental breakdown, wanting to leave the Alliance. Hange tells Annie that their mission isn't for Marley or Liberio, but simply to save as many strangers as possible. Upon hearing this, Annie addresses the group, saying, "If that's the case, then I return to my original question: Can you kill Eren? When I'm about to kill Eren... will you just stand by and watch? I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to kill each other. And you... and Eren..."